The purpose of this thesis was to describe experiences of the elderly who took part in the peer support group called Kööri which operated in a service centre in southern Finland. The participants were asked about the significance of peer support in their aim to reduce alcohol consumption. The thesis included improvement recommendations for the group instructors to be used in the future groups. The recommendations also included the clients’ viewpoint and how the social and health care professionals should constructively bring up alcohol consumption.

This thesis was a qualitative case study. The data was collected by four semi-structured theme interviews. Deductive content analysis was used as a data analysis method. The interview questions were formed by using Kolb’s experimental learning theory and its four learning orientations.

The research findings indicated that the peer support group was very meaningful for the individuals aiming to reduce their alcohol consumption. All of the interviewees reduced their alcohol consumption during the peer support group that lasted for a year. The shared experiences amongst the group supported the growth of inner strength and self-esteem, and gave the group an opportunity to build new social relations and re-evaluate old relations. An alcohol related problem was seen as an illness that can be cured. The interviewees wanted to be included and felt that it was important that they were asked for topics for the discussions, and equally important that the discussions were conducted by two professional instructors.

The interviewees hoped that the social and health care workers would bring up the subject of alcohol consumption constructively without casting blame on client and would encourage them to make a change in their life and to maintain hope in difficult times in their life. An elderly peer support group with similar ages tends to be more effective in motivating each other to reduce alcohol consumption. It is important that participants have an opportunity to influence the content of the group because it strengthens the participant’s experiences of social inclusion. In the social and health care services, the client oriented services are greatly valued and therefore the peer support group instructors can benefit by using the results of this thesis when planning for any future groups.